title: The association between antidepressant use and depression eight years later: a national cohort study.
abstract: Investigations of the effects of antidepressant treatment for individuals with major depression have focused on short-term outcomes in individuals that meet very specific criteria; however, there is limited knowledge about long-term outcomes associated with antidepressant use in general population samples. This study aimed to investigate the long-term outcomes associated with antidepressant use by focusing on 486 depressed adults in a prospective observational Canadian cohort in 1998/99. We used logistic regression to investigate the association between antidepressant use and depression status 8 years later. Non-random allocation to treatment was accounted for by a propensity-for-treatment model which included thirteen predictors of antidepressant use, including: severity of depressive symptoms, previous episodes of depression (from 1994 to 1997), physical health condition, social support and socio-demographic characteristics. 29% of individuals with major depression reported antidepressant use. After adjusting for propensity for treatment in 1998/99, and antidepressant use from 2000 to 2007, depressed individuals who reported antidepressant use in 1998/99 were less likely to be depressed in 2006/07 compared to those who did not report antidepressant use (OR = 0.36, 95% CI: 0.15-0.88). Amongst individuals with symptoms of major depression, those reporting use of anti-depressants at baseline exhibited improved long-term outcomes in comparison to those who did not report treatment.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. ian.colman@ualberta.ca
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Colman
authors.forename: Yiye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Anushka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ataullahjan
authors.forename: Ambikaipakan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Senthilselvan
authors.forename: Scott B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Patten
mesh_terms: D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents